Surrey Homes | SH55 | May 2019 | Extensions & Outdoor Living supplement inside

Wellbeing
Natural wisdom
Co-founder of Botanica Health in Rusthall, Tunbridge Wells, Naomi
Murray grew up immersed in natural health – her father is Scotland’s
most experienced herbalist, Brian Lamb. Her natural health shop with
treatment rooms is a haven for locals who seek holistic advice, natural
products and alternative therapies. botanicahealth.co.uk
What one piece of seasonal wisdom
helps you in May? I see spring as a time
for renewal and refreshment. The cleansing
herbs like cleavers (sticky willow), nettle and
dandelion are in full flourish nudging us in
to using these herbs to cleanse the system.
Juicing cleavers with apple and fennel,
making nettle tea and adding a few bitter
dandelion leaves to a salad are a great way
to add these detoxifying herbs to our daily
diet, cleansing the liver and gallbladder.
What one self-care ritual do you never
skimp on? I love going to bed early with
a relaxing tea and a good book. Sleep is so
important for mental health and wellbeing
as the body heals during the night. The
body works incredibly hard during the wee
small hours, and staying up late just doesn’t
allow it to do its job properly. Remarkably
brain cells shrink by 60 per cent when we
sleep allowing for efficient toxin removal.
There is an insomnia epidemic and I always
tell people to be as religious about their
sleep as they are about exercise, nutrition
and personal beauty regimes! Good sleep
has been proven to make people look much
more attractive too!
What’s cooking in your kitchen this
month? I am always buying cookery books!
I love food and am constantly inspired.
I will be making use of the wild garlic,
making fresh pesto and risotto. Medicinal
mushrooms have been on my radar for
a while now and I am using these more
and more in cooking. They are fascinating
and connect all the plants around them
with a kind of underground internet. I
will make lots of salads. I love watercress
(which is good for the lungs) with thinly
sliced fennel, cucumber, red onion and a
salad dressing of olive oil, cider vinegar, raw
honey and fennel seeds.
Share one book that taught you
something amazing about life – and
made you better at living it? Gosh. I have
a book addiction and am never without
a book. It always has to be factual, I very
rarely read fiction. There is too much to
learn! The most influential book I have
read is Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends
and Influence People. I have always been
interested in people, their stories and
experiences so it is innate to me but he
said the best way to make friends is to be
interested in others. It can be rare today to
meet people who are interested in you, but
it’s so important to listen.
What always brings a smile to your face?
Plants and my dog Bonnie. I absolutely love
plants and can become immersed in their
beauty. I know that they are amazing in
their own right, wonderful to look
Stay in touch with Eminé
If you’d like to follow Eminé and continue to learn more about holistic
wellbeing & conscious living, visit her new online journal or subscribe to her
podcast, This Conscious Life; for more information visit thisconsciouslife.com;
you can also follow her on social media at @thisconsciousbeing
Health and beauty tips
Discover a wealth of wellbeing advice
surrey-homes.co.uk/wellbeing
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Walking in the local woods, watching
Bonnie just loving life, and looking out
for herbs and plants along the way, is a
very simple way to relax and be happy.
The Japanese coined the phrase: ‘forest
bathing’, which simply means walking
in nature. Not running or counting
steps but becoming at one with your
surroundings and taking it all in.
What is the best treatment you’ve had
locally? I love an aromatherapy massage
and we have a lovely lady in the clinic
called Janet who treats me. She tailors
the treatment to suit with beautiful
oils depending on your current mood
and situation. It’s funny when you are
young you think how old-fashioned
aromatherapy is and of course it’s not
and, now I am in my late forties, I
appreciate how scents combined with
touch are so therapeutic to body and
soul. I always leave relaxed but renewed,
wishing I could just stay a bit longer.
Eminé says:
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